Just Another Winter Day
by LaylaGreene
Summary: She believes in the legends and draws them in her notebook. One winter day, while visiting the kids, she meets the one and only Jack Frost. However, this encounter may change her life forever.
1. Jack Frost

**A/N:** _This is supposed t be a one-shot, but if I have time, I might make it into an actual story. Anyway, thanks for reading._

I look at the picture. I drew a boy. He must have been about fifteen or sixteen. He's pretty tall. He maybe has about four inches on me, so he's five foot five. He wears a blue hoodie with a pattern of frost and brown pants that has been folded on the bottom. I drew him without shoes. I don't know why I did. I don't remember my dreams, so I can't really recall if this boy really did have no shoes. He holds a wooden staff with a curved end. I drew the staff so that there is snow wedged in between the cracks of wood. His skin is fair, pale as if it hasn't seen the sun. His hair is a bit messed up and is as white as the fresh-fallen snow. His eyes are a light blue, like ice, but not as cold. I drew his eyes so that there's a glint of mischief in it. The floor is a white blanket of snow, with the grass poking out here and there. There are a few snowflakes here and there, decorating the paper.

I know who he is. I saw him in a dream. It's Jack Frost.

I erase a corner of the drawing and write in fancy blue letters, "Jack Frost, A Winter Wonder."

I turn the pages to my previous drawings.

I find my drawing of a shadow. I saw it in a dream as well. There are six shadows in an order, standing tall and dark. The thing has a long face of some sort and smoothed out hair. That's all I got from the shadow. The background, I guess, is a stone cave, an unwelcoming feature. In the corner in cracked, 3-D letters reads, "Nightmare."  
I have many other drawings in my notebook, a few dialogues as well. I have one with the Tooth Fairy, her smile most white, the Easter Bunny, with a boomerang on his back, Santa Clause, with his arms crossed and tattoos of Naughty and Nice on them, and Sandman with a moon made of golden dust atop his head.

"Lizzie," someone says. I jerk my head to my right.

"Huh?" I ask. My best friend, Amy is staring at me with questioning blue eyes, her books in hand.

"Lizzie," she whines. "School's over. Let's go." I take my note book and shove it in my book bag. Amy and I start to walk to the door.

"Hey, wait," I say. "I have to visit the kids at the square."

"Oh, right. We have to visit them. You know, Jamie keeps talking about 'Jack Frost visiting for Christmas.' Who knows? He may be right."

"What do you mean," I ask, wondering if she believes in him too.

"Well, considering how cold it is, we definitely will have a white Christmas." I nod, feigning a smile. Of course, that's not what she meant.

I hear a little jingle and Amy digs through her jacket pocket and fishes out her pink cell phone. She stares at the glowing screen and sighs.

"Sorry, Liz, gotta go home and prepare for family," she says.

"It's ok, Amy," I say.  
"Tell the kids 'Hi' for me," she shouts as she runs in the direction of her house.

I start to run with a smile on my face. Visiting the kids is my favorite time of day.

I stop short to find an unbelievable sight. I see the kids, yes. There's Jamie with his little sister, Sophie. There's Armin with his glasses and Cupcake with her favorite sweater. There are more kids than usual. I know them all anyway. There's little Monique with her short curly hair and the bright blue-eyed David with a snowball on hand. And, of course, many more.

But, that isn't why it is so unusual. There's a boy with them. He's my age. He's just like my drawing. His hair is as white as the fresh-fallen snow and pale skin as if it hasn't seen the sun. His eyes are as blue as ice, but not as cold. It's everything I've dreamt about, literally.

"Lizzie!" shouts Monique, spotting me. She runs towards me with the others, as if trying to tackle me. The children surround me and I lift my arms, not really seeing this attack. All the children smile and giggle as I struggle against their arms and hands.

"Hey Monique!" I greet happily. "Hi, Jamie, Jessie, Armin, Cupcake, David, Sophie!" I start to breathe dramatically, as if out of breath. "Man, there are too many of you. Oh, Ames says 'hi'." They start to giggle and laugh.

"You know," I say, "if you let go, I might be able to breathe again." Some let go automatically, like David and Jamie. Others look at me with an "aw-do-we-have-to" face then let go hesitantly. One, Monique, holds on my hand and leads me to the strange boy. Jamie trails behind us and the rest of the kids continue their snowball fight.

"Come on, Lizzie. We want you to see someone," urges Monique.

"You believe in Jack Frost, right, Lizzie?" asks Jamie. I smile so wide.

"Of course I do Jamie!" I admit.

"Well, he's here!" says Monique. She pushes me forward to the middle of the town square. I catch myself and straighten up. Suddenly, it feels a bit cold. I look up to find that I am staring into the ice blue eyes of a winter wonder. His eyes are questioning while mine are wide open. I am looking into the eyes of the Jack Frost.

"Jack, this is Elizabeth," Jamie says.

"Lizzie, this is Jack Frost," says Monique. I don't look at them. I stare at the mesmerizing blue orbs in front of me.

He's real. Jack Frost is real. And I am meeting him. I am right here, in front of him. Woah.  
Suddenly, his eyes are wide open as well.

"Wait, can you see me?" he asks. I just nod.

I feel a tug on my sleeve. I look to my left. A snowball flies my way. I use my arms to shield my face from the snow.

After the attack reaches its target I lower my arms to find Monique giggling behind a little snow fortress. I narrow my eyes at her and grin. In front of me, is a pale hand holding a perfect snowball. I follow the extended arm to find its owner is no other than Jack Frost.  
His head is almost resting on my left shoulder, with a smirk on his face. I blush lightly at our closeness.

"You know you want to," he teases.

I smile. I take the snowball in my hand.

"Monique," I say. She looks over to me and her eyes widen at the snowball. I start to run after her as she runs through the snow. We're both smiling and laughing with the other kids.

A snowball hits my shoulder. I look to my left to find the one and only Jack Frost laughing and pointing at me. I smile and shout, "Jack!" playfully. He looks at me still smiling.

"Catch me if you can!" he teases. He flies up into the air. I shake my head and laugh.

"That's no fair!" I shout running, er, after him, I guess.

The day carries on. All of us got in a snowball fight and built snowmen. And, of course, there's the occasional bickering and/or teasing from me and Jack and the snowball down his or my back. Yep, that's an afternoon with Jack Frost.

Now, we're around one of the snowmen we built.

"Today was awesome!" exclaims David.

"It better be," says Jack, who's in the air, lying down on his back with his hands behind his head. " 'Cause I'm gonna come here for all of winter!" Jack twirls upward in the air and comes down with ease.

"Wait," says Jamie. "You're going to stay!?" Jamie goes up to him and hugs him, much like what Monique did to me. Soon, most of the children are hugging him, causing him to stumble a bit. Only Monique is hugging me. I look a him with a smirk.

"What?" he asks, looking a me. "No hug?"

"Oh no, no, no, Jack Frost," I say. "Plus, I'm good right here with my Little Unique." Monique looks up to me.

"Is that my new nickname?" she questions me.

"Yep, 'cause you're little and you're unique," I say lightly pinching her nose. She smiles and looks at Jack.

"I'm good here, too," says Monique, hugging me even tighter.

"Ok, ok, ok. I get it you're both good there," says Jack. "But, can someone help me," he laughs. The kids, on hearing this, hug Jack even tighter. I roll my eyes.

I carry Monique and spin her around as she giggles. I place her down gently on the snowy ground.

Monique gets the idea and says, "Aww! That was fun! Can I do it again?" The kids look at me and start to run towards me. They jump up and down asking if they can be carried. I smile and look at the kids.

"Beep, beep, beep," warns my blue watch. I look at my wrist to find 5:00 blinking. My eyes widen. Is it that late already? I sigh.

"Ok, kids. It's getting late. I bet all of your parents are worried sick about you," I say. They all start to pout.

"Guys, it is late," explains Jamie.

"Why don't Jack and I walk you home?" I suggest. Jack grins and quickly agrees.

All of the children start to walk towards their homes. Jack flies above us as I make sure all the kids get home. The number of children dwindles down until only Jamie, Sophie, and Monique are with me.

"Jack," asks Jamie when we are at his door, "you're coming back for all of winter, right? I mean, last time, you didn't come tha much." Jack ruffles Jamie's hair.

"Of course, this time I'll come," Jack answers. "And," he adds, looking at Sophie, "when Easter comes, I'll make sure that the Easter Bunny visits."

"Bunny?" Sophie says, already lighting up. I smile. She is just so cute when she's happy. Easter is her favorite time of year.

Wait, he knows the Easter Bunny? Oh, I'll ask about that later.

Jack and I drop off the two and finally get to my Little Unique's house.

"Ok, Little Unique, time to go home," I say to her as we approach her house. She sighs.

"What is it Monique?" I ask, kneeling down to her level.

All of a sudden she lunges at me with a laugh. I manage to stay upright and giggle along with her.

"Nothin' wrong," she giggles. She wraps her arms around my neck and whispers, "Ya know, I think you like each other."

My eyes widen as I take in what she said. She means that Jack may like me. I blush scarlet.

Monique pulls back and holds in a laugh. I narrow my eyes at her.

"Hey, Mo," Jack interrupts, "what about my hug?" Monique gets a running start and jumps towards Jack. The winter spirit catches her and swings her around. Still holding on to her, Jack floats down. Monique lets go of his neck and grabs on his shoulder, whispering in his ear. His eyes widen as she talks to him. Then, his cheeks tinge a light pink.

I cock my head to the side, wondering what they're talking about.

Monique pulls away and smiles at him with her hands on her hips. I know that position. That means, "So, yes or no?"

Jack nods at her. Monique's smile grows wider.

"Ok! Bye!" she says, running into her house. I walk towards Jack.

"What was that all about?" I ask him as we start to walk towards my house. He shrugs, but I can see that he is blushing, a little bit.

"Nothin'," he says.

We walk in a comfortable silence for a while until that question pops in my head.

"So, you know the Easter Bunny?" I ask him. He snickers.

"Yeah, ruin an Easter Egg Hunt with a blizzard doesn't exactly get you on good terms with him."

"Does he look like this?" I ask, fishing the notebook out of my book bag. I turn to the page with the Easter Bunny.

Jack takes the notebook out of my hands and examines the picture.

"Did you draw this?" he asks.

I reply, "Yes, I saw it in a dream."

"It's... wow. It looks exactly like him. You even got the boomerang right."

"Good. Before I had that dream, I thought the Easter Bunny was just a cute big fluffy bunny."

"Ha! I got to tell him that!"

"Oh, hush up!"

"Do you have any more drawings?"

"Yeah, my whole notebook is full of them! Especially of the legends I've heard about."

Jack flips through my notebook, seeing the sketches and drawings of the Tooth Fairy, Sandman, Santa Clause, and him. He keeps smiling and commenting on pictures of the legends.

We arrive at my house. I stand on the porch as he floats a few inches above the ground, still looking at the pictures. I am not leaving without my book.

Suddenly, his smile is replaced with a frown.

"What's wrong?" I ask. He floats over to me and shows me the picture of "Nightmare" I drew a few days ago.

"What's this?" he asks.

"Oh, that is something from a nightmare I had a few days ago," I reply.

"What was it about?" I sigh. I hate that nightmare.

"Um... I remember that I was in some sort of cave and I was surrounded by those figures," I recall, pointing to the shadows in the drawing. "The shadows were talking to me and they were saying something about 'guardians' and 'princesses.' It sounds crazy, but he, they, or whatever did say those words multiple times. Those things kept saying of precious things being ripped from my grasp, or something or other. And before I woke up, the thing said, 'We'll meet again, Princess.' When I woke up, I automatically drew this."

Jack glares at the drawing.

"Is something wrong?" I ask him. His glare is quickly replaced with a grin.

"Oh, nothing." He hands me my notebook and is about to fly.

"Wait," I say, grabbing his wrist. I don't know why. I just don't want him to leave just yet.

He turns around to face me.

"You will come back, right?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

He smiles.

"Why wouldn't I?" Jack says. He leans in slowly and gives me a quick peck on the cheek. My heart just skipped a beat. My cheeks flushed red. But, as quickly as it happened, it ended. I look down to the floor and stare at my shoes. He just kissed me on the cheek.

"See ya tomorrow, Lizza!" He shouts. I look up to find him already in the sky high above the ground.

"Bye, Jack!" I shout back. He disappears with the wind.


	2. Nightmares really do come true

"And you think you're safe now, don't you, Princess?" whisper the shadows.

I keep turning and turning, trying to find out where that voice is. I'm in the same stone cave again, trying to wake up. But, I can't.

My head starts hurting, like a strong headache, but worse. With my two hands, I grasp my head, trying to place pressure on the parts of pain.

"That's right, little girl, let me in your mind. Let me see your fears," says the voice.

I slowly get down on my knees, still holding my head. What's happening?

"I'm... not afraid... of you," I stutter, trying to make the shadows disappear.

"I know that. You're afraid of something else," say the shadows.

Suddenly, I feel no pain and I am feeling cold everywhere. I lift my head to see that I'm in the town square. There are the children. I smile, seeing Monique giggling behind her snow fortress. David and Cupcake are at another snow fortress, trying to throw snowballs at Monique. Jamie is building a snowman with Sophie. There are more kids doing other activities as well.

A boom is heard from nearby.

The kids stop in their actions. Monique, Jamie, and Cupcake look around, being the oldest there.

I want to walk over there, to tell all of them that it's all right and to go home. But, I can't move. It's as if I don't have any control over myself. I try screaming or shouting to them to go home. I know they wouldn't do that on their own. They're too curious.

Sophie holds on to Jamie's arm, hiding her face. Monique tries comforting the other younger children, and Cupcake is still searching for whatever that noise was.

That same boom is heard again.

All kids look towards the forest, except one. Monique falls to the ground, dead.

A scream rips from my throat. I run to Monique's side. Everything else disappears. It's just Monique and me in the darkness. Tears start to form in my eyes. I blink them away, not wanting Monique to think that she will move on. I hold her hand with both of mine.

"You're going to be ok. You'll be fine," I say to her. Monique doesn't say anything. Her eyes are focused on me. Her breathing turns ragged and shorter. This is when I start to cry.

Suddenly, she disappears like dust. My eyes widen in surprise. My hands start to pat the ground, looking for her.

"That's one of your fears," says a voice. I look up to find that figure. I can get a good look at him now. He's tall and grey-skinned. His hair is glossy black and pulled back. The only color on him is the glowing yellow eyes.

Despite his creepy firgure, I glare at him.

"It's so petty. Why don't we look at another one, shall we?" he says. I try to move, but something prevents me from doing so.

Black dust swirls around us. The dust stops in front of us and starts to form figures. The figures stay as dust unlike the last vision. One of the figures is the shadow. The other one ... is Jack.

Jack is in fighting stance and his staff is pointed a the figure. Jack charges at the figure. However, more black dust appears and forms into horse-like creatures with glowing red eyes. The horses surround Jack. The winter spirit takes out the horses easily with his staff. Jack fights a particular stubborn horse, but another creature appears behind him.

I try to scream, but something is preventng me.

The creature slams into Jack with no mercy. The dust-made winter spirit falls and collapses rght in front of me.

The dust clears and soon the real Jack Frost is in front of me. His eyes are closed.

"No!" I scream, finally able to shout. I break the invisible bonds holding me and charge towards the grey-skinned man.

He doesn't move. He just cackles.

How I wish something could wrap around him.

Suddenly, thin vines break through from the ground and reach to my hand. I clench my fists and vines break out in a circle around me. I stop, surprised by the appearance of the plants.

"Hm... It's true that anything can happen in a dream," I think. I thrust my hands forward and the vines spring out towards him. The green vines wrap around the figure.

On the finding of my new abilities, I focus my energy on the ground. A giant leaf appears below my feet, like a carpet. With my mind, the leaf flies toward the upright, tied-up figure.

"Don't threaten me again," I say in a serious tone. I expect him to disappear and for me to wake up. But, he doesn't.

He laughs.

"Thank you, princess," he says. "You have shown me what I need to know." he disappears with the vines and my magic leaf. I am left on the ground.

The cackle continues. I don't know where it's coming from. I turn and turn, trying to find it.

The pain in my head returns but stronger. I hold my head with both hands and go on my knees.

I start to see images flash by on my head. One is a crown, made of silver metal and green vines. That image is replaced by a blurry image. I can make out the colors, though. There is white, tan, green, and gold colors. The image starts to get clearer. I finally make out a hand with a braided bracelet. A gold chain with small white gems wraps around two green threads. The hand is summoning the same vines I conjured up a few seconds ago. That vision fades. Now, I see the grass. It is green and fresh. Wind blows over the grass. Gold and orange leaves fall on the grass. The wind blows over again and takes the leaves with it. Soon, snowflakes fall on the grass.

"Lizza!" someone shouts. I release my head and the pain starts to go away. I look around the stone prison to find the voice.

I know that voice. I've heard it before. I can't put my finger on it.

"Lizza! Please wake up!" The same voice shouts. I see a bright light and soon, I'm in the darkness again.

I open my eyes and find Jack right in front of me. We are in some sort of of forest. There's a clearing near us with a broken bed in the middle of the dirt floor. It's still night. There are still stars in the sky and the moon is almost full. I look around me to see that I am lying down on the dirt.

"Jack?" I say, not really sure if he is real or just another nightmare to come.

"Lizza," Jack says, "Are you ok? You scared me to death."

"Why? What happened?" I ask.

"I found you sleepwalking in the forest and towards..."

"Towards, what?"

"Nothing. Hey, what's that?" I look to where Jack is looking. I gasp. It's the same bracelet from my dream. My head starts to hurt again. I hate that nightmare. And I hate that Shadow.

"Hey, Lizza, you ok?" asks Jack. He places a hand on my shoulder and looks at me. I rub my temples and close my eyes.

"I'm ok. Just a bad dream," I say. "Nothin' much."

"Oh, how wrong you are princess." My eyes fly open. No, not that voice. It was just a nightmare.

But, there he is, darkness and all.

Jack stands up and glares at the Shadow.

"What are you doing here?" Jack demands.

The Shadow laughs, or should I say cackles. Jack stands straight and tall.

"Oh, Jack, I'm not here for you," the shadow says.

I narrow my eyes at him. My blood starts to boil.

"I'm here for her," he announces, pointing at me.

I stand up; I am not putting up with this for much longer. I walk towards the two, wanting to say something to that one horrible terrible monster.

But, jack holds his staff out horizontally, preventing me from going near the two. He goes into fighting stance, his staff pointed at the Shadow. He glares at him and says, "Over my dead body."

My eyes widen. Jack is protecting me. He's only known me for a day, and yet he's making sure I'm safe.

A burst of wind gently, yet quickly, throws me back so I'm at least a few yards away. The wind swirls around me. The only way I can see it is because some of the stray leaves were picked up by it and are now dancing around me. The wind gets stronger, for I can see lines traveling as fast as a jet around me. I reach out and touch the invisible force. The wind blows me back inside.

"Jack?" I say questionably. He doesn't turn to me. His eyes are focused on the enemy.

"Jack!" I shout.

My head starts to hurt. I trapped in the stone walls again. The black dust is forming the two figures.

My eyes fly open. Oh, no.

"Jack! It's a trap!" I warn. He doesn't hear me. He stays focused on the Shadow. I think back to the nightmare. What could I do? If only this was not real, I could make vines appear and block the horse.

The leaves following the wind start to slow down. Thinking that the wind is dying down, I touch the barrier again. Like last time, I am blown back.

I grit my teeth in frustration. How will I get out of this?

The leaves continue moving slowly to a point in front of me. I cock my head in the confusion. Is this a dream? The leaves form a flower-like position. The leaves rest on the strong wind as if it is on water. The leaves surround one particular spot. That little spot, however, doesn't have wind.

To make sure, I reach out and poke the spot. This time I don't fly back. I smile internally. I place my hands in the middle and push the leaves aside. To my surprise, the leaves do what I want them to. The windless center becomes bigger and finally it is big enough for me to step through.

I look to the fight to find that Jack is fighting with one horse. My eyes widen. I run towards Jack.

Black dust starts to form behind the winter spirit, encouraging me to sprint even faster.

I won't let this nightmare come true.

I shove Jack out of the way.

I see red glowing orbs in front of me. Then, I am enveloped in darkness once again.


	3. A Visit

"Elizabeth?" someone says sweetly. I blink my eyes open and the light burns my eyes.

"Elizabeth?" asks the same voice. My eyes get used to the bright light and can make out a face. The woman is some kind of hybrid of a human and a hummingbird. Green, yellow, and blue feathers adorn her figure. Her smile is white. No single flaw can be seen on her teeth.

It comes to me. I've drawn this figure before.

"Tooth?" I ask, amazement and confusion ringing clear in my voice. Her smile grow wider.

"So, you do believe in me. This is so exciting!" she says.

"Wait, where am I?" I ask her. She smiles.

"Why, Elizabeth, you're at the North Pole."

"Wh-What? I'm actually in the North Pole! Where Santa is?"

"Well, here, we call him North. And yes. We're in his workshop." my mouth stays open. I am in the workshop of Santa Clause.

Wait, why am in here? The memories flood back to me. Pitch, nightmares, a wind chamber. Wind chamber? JACK!

Jack's POV

Elizabeth. Her name is echoing through my mind. She has only been out for a few hours, but... I don't know. All I can say is that I'm worried. Ever since yesterday, I just couldn't take my mind off of her.

One day Pitch will pay. He won't do this to her again. Not while I'm here. Which is forever if you think about it.

"Jack!" I turn my head in direction of the voice. It is definitely familiar. I look down from the branch I'm sitting on to find Monique, her eyes quivering with worry. I float down to her.

"Jack, where is Elizabeth? She hasn't been here this morning. And-"

"She's ok," I say. I hope. Monique's eyes light up like a Christmas tree.

"Really? Where is she?" she asks.

"She is doing..." What was that thing called? Home-something.

"Homework?" Monique asks, completing my thought.

"Yes, that's it!" The little girl smiles.

"Good. I was worried. She's like my big sister, ya know." I nod at her comment. Lizza and Monique do seem very close.

"Oh," Monique says, "did you do it?"

"Do what?" The small brunette rolls her eyes.

"Ya know, kiss her on the cheek!" she almost shouts. Blood rushes to my cheeks, remembering the dare she gave me. I turn my eyes away from Monique. She gasps.

"You like her!" she says. My eyes widen at her comment. Monique smiles widely. "You like her! Jack Frost likes her!" she sings.

"She's real great, ya know. I think she likes you back." Monique pauses, waiting for my comment. As I am about to say a smart comeback, she gasps again.

"Woah, Jack, look!" she says pointing to the sky. I look behind me to find green, blue, and yellow lines of color dance around the sky. That's the signal! She's awake!

"Ok, Monique, I gotta go now. Tell Jamie and the others I'll be back soon!" I say, already off the ground.

I fly off to the North Pole. She's going to be ok. She's all right. I burst into the shop and fly up to the room I placed her in.

"Lizza!" I shout as I barge in.

I expect to be embraced by her warm body or hear my name being shouted. But, that isn't what I see. She is in front of me. Elizabeth is bound to the wall by thin green vines. Her head is pressed against the wall. Lizza is gritting her teeth and the skin inbetween her eyebrows is wrinkled. Her eyes are shut tight, as if in pain.

What happened?

"Elizabeth!" I shout. I run to her side and try to get the vines off of her body.

"Stay... away," she mumbles through gritted teeth.

"No!" i shout. "Who did this to you?" Anger bubbles up inside of me. If Pitch laid one finger on her...

"Not safe...Jack...out," she mumbles again.

"Elizabeth, everything is ok! Please, just look at me!" I command of her. I'm desparate. I need to know what happened. I stand right in front of her, hoping to see the brilliant green eyes she has.

"No," she says. "Jack...not...safe...Leave."

"Elizabeth, please! Just look at me! Everything's all right!" Her eyes scrunch up more for just a second.

Then, they open in a flash. I can tell you one thing. They're not green. No, they're a much different color. Her eyes are black.

Elizabeth sneers at me. However, right after, her eyes turn into the green I had been expecting.

"Jack, please, get out. Not safe!" she shouts, anger increasing in her words. Her eyes scrunch up again and her head bangs against the wall.

"This isn't going to work. There must be something to get her back on track," I think.

"Monique is looking for you!" I shout, knowing she would recognize the name. Her eyes flutter open, just for a second. Then, they shut close.

"Unique," she mutters through gritted teeth once again.

"Monique,"she mutters again. Elizabeth repeats the brunette's name over and over, like a spell.

"Jamie, Sophie, the kids! They're looking for you!" I shout. She repeats the kids names.

"Mo, Jamie... Sophie, Cupcake, David, Jessie... Armin," she mutters. She groans and repeats the names, adding more names each time. The vines start to disapear, but not all.

"I need you!" The words escape my mouth before I can control it. ElizBeth stops in the middle of her chant and says my name.

"Jack," she says, as soft as a whisper. The vines disappear all at once, except one. A thick green line wraps around her body and sets her gently on the bed. Her eyes are still closed as she lays down in her stomach. Her arm hides her whole face and her dark brown hair creates another barrier.

What just happened?

? POV:

I watch Elizabeth as the vines set her down on the soft matress. The new guardian stamds there, stunned by the recent events. He looks at Elizabeth with worried eyes and sits right next to her exhausted body.

The girl stirs and lifts her head to see Jack. She manages a smile and jumps into his cold arms, shouting, "Jack!" They both embrace tightly, as if afraid they,ll be ripped away from each other any second now.

"I am so sorry, so so sorry," she apoligizes. I smile at her efforts. It wasn't her fault. It was... someone else's.

"What do you need to be sorry for?" asks Jack as he strokes her hair.

The rest of the guardians burst in the room, led by Tooth. North eyed the blue, gold, and white bracelet on Elizabeth's hand.

"Come on, let's give them space," whispers North, ushering, Bunny, Tooth and Sandman out.

I follow my used-to-be friends.

Sandy has an exclamation mark over his head and then signals a tree.

"I know, she does look like her a lot," says Tooth.

"Do you think-" says Bunnymund.

"Her name is Elizabeth Lauren Martin," begins North. "She fits all of the descriptions. She is creative and is fond of nature. She even has the green eyes."

"But, do you think it's possible?" asks the Easter Bunny. "It's never been done and you do know that _she_ always did have too active an imagination."

"Well, it must be true," says Toothiana. "When I was in there, she started getting angry and vines, yes vines, came from the wall and wrapped around her. Now who else could do that?"

"Plus, Bunnymund, she has the bracelet. I must be true," explains North.

Sandy makes several pictures above his head.

"Sandy's right. We musn't tell her. It would be too risky," says the Guardian of Memories.

I smile at her decision. It's perfect.

"We all agree?" asks North. They all nod. I smile once again and fly out. I fly throught the clouds and towards my garden.

Now, I just need to tell Elizabeth of her destiny.

"Leaving so soon, Lauren," says a voice. I abruptly stop. I turn around to find the one and only Boogeyman on his cloud of black dust. I narrow my eyes at him.

"What do you want, Kozmotis?" I ask, anger lining my words.

"Using my real name?" he says, raising an eyebrow.

"You used mine," I say. He laughs.

"Well, I just came to ask you of that little friend of yours."

"She is none of your business, Pitch."

"Oh, but she is. And you know very well why."

"Oh, right. Is it because she will kick your butt in a few months?!"

"She will, will she? She doesn't even know her true powers and yet you are helping her! She is usless!"

"She is not useless! You are!"

"Such hurtful words from you."

"Well, I don't need to use them. You make me." I take a deep breath. "Look, we don't need to do this. We can leave the past behind. We can start over."

"NO! I am not giving up my power!"

"This is the very reason why I am still here. I cannot leave here until either you turn from your ways or until she defeats you. Do you want me to suffer?"

"Because of what you did to me, yes."

"Have it your way Pitch. But, remember this, you brought this upon yourself."

"I'll remember that." I glare at him until he disappears with a cloud of black dust. A tear escapes my eye and I fly fast to my garden.

It's settled. I'll visit her tonight. She'll find her destiny and Pitch will be defeated.

End

Reviews are respected and loved by the author! :-)


	4. Mother Nature

Elizabeth POV:

I look at what North gave to me. It's a necklace. One charm is attached to the golden chain. The charm is in a shape of a bouquet of delicate roses, lilies, and bluebells.

I trace my finger over the necklace. It's such great detail.

"What is this for?" I ask North, looking up to him.

"This necklace is special," he says. "If you touch it and call us, we'll be there." I smile.

"Thank you," I say, "all of you. I had a wonderful time." I look around. "Um... So how do I get home?"

"Well, we could," starts North, pulling something out of his red coat.

"No!" Jack says. "We are not going to be put in a sack and tossed through a portal." I raise my eyebrow what he said.

"Aw," says North, "I like that idea." Jack floats down to me.

"We'll do it my way," he says.

"And what is this fun way?" I ask.

"The Wind."

"Jack, don't you dare-" But, it was too late. Jack already summoned the Wind.

A strong, yet gentle breeze lifts me up into the air. The Wind holds me up for a while as its breze touches my face.

"Woah!" I exclaim. "This is so cool!" i take a step in air and the Wind follows me, preventing me from falling down twenty feet. I start to walk on air and twirl like I'm dancing.

"Well, Wind, let's go back to Burgess!" shouts Jack. The Wind suddenly stops following me and starts to carry me out of the top window.

"Bye, everyone!" I shout to the Guardians.

I look ahead and slide down the Wind, seeing that Jack is ahead. It's like surfing, a bit. I swerve from left to right, following the Wind's hints. The Wind tosses me up and down. Soon, I am neck and neck with Jack.

"Hey, how'd you get-" Jack says, recognizing me beside him.

"Oh, just riding the Wind," I say. I let myself relax as I lie down on the invisible force. The Wind supports me once again as i look to the blue sky.

I do all sorts of tricks as we get closer to our destination. And I start to hum to a tune I've known forever. The tune is eight simple notes. The first four climb up and the last fall down. Then, I repeat. I've never heard the tune before, so I guess I made it up. I sing the tune and make up words, then I would sing it to the children when I put them to bed or even to myself. Like the first night I had a nightmare, I sang it, and it felt as if someone was comforting me.

I hum the tune again and I start to feel the warm arms of no one wrap around me, giving me comfort and confidence. The memories of Pitch and the thoughts of the dark me have been placed aside for now.

"Where'd you learn that?" asks Jack.

"I don't know. I just know it," I say, shrugging. I keep riding the Wind starts to slow down.

I look down to find that I am already at my front door. Ythe stars have already come out from hiding. Good thing that my parents are on another business trip. I hope Jack told he kids that i wasn't going to visit them today.

"Well, this is our stop," I say, stepping on my porch. Jack stays afloat, a few inches above the porch.

"Thanks, Jack," I say.

"No problem," he says. Emotion comsumes me, and before I can stop myself, I run to him. My arms wrap around his neck. He's stiff for a moment or two, then he wraps his own arms around me.

"Thank you for saving me," I say being more specific.

"It's what I do," he chuckles. I hesitanty let go.

"See ya tonorrw?" i ask.

"Definitely," the Winter Spirit says, a grin plastered on his face.

"Bye," I say shyly. I open the front door and close it slowly, peeking at the retreating guardian. I close the door, getting a final glimpse of The Wind carrying Jack into the night sky. I sigh and lean against the door.

What a great day. And an exhausting one at that. First, having the nightmare. Then, for some reason having my body taken over by something or someone of Pitch. Next, meeting the guardians. After that, I helped creating the toys for Christmas. Lunch with the spirits came next. We all cracked jokes, (especially Jack), and shared Christmas memories. Finally, getting the necklace.

I go through my bedtime routine, which includes checking messages from my parents.

"Hi, Honey!" says my mom's energenic voice. I roll my eyes.

"Hello, Sweetie." my dad greets calmly. "Your mom and I will be late. We promise we'll be there by Christmas!"

"You won't believe what present we got you! And don't forget to bake cookies for Santa!" I smile at their, I mean, my mom's enthusiasm. My mom is really perky. My dad likes being straight to the point. Ah, the fun times we have together.

I write in my diary of today's events and then get my drawing journal. I sit on me bed, turn to a new page, and start sketching. After about an hour of sketching, I'm finally satisfied with the sketch.

It's all of us, the guardians and I, around North's Christmas tree. North is in the middle, a smile on his face. Tooth is flying so her feet are at North's chest. Her hand is held up, like she's shyly waving at the observer looking at this. Baby Tooth, one of Tooth's duplicates, is right above Tooth's shoulder, gazing at her larger self. Bunnymund is on North's right side, his arms crossed and his boomerang in hand. He has a smirk on his face. Sandy is in front of North, his sand hand raised up as high as he can have it and on his tiptoes, waving. Jack and I are to the left of North. I have Jack's jacket on, since it is cold up there in the North Pole. A snowball is halfway in between us and I have one lopsided snowball in my hand. My head is thrown back, laughing. My dark brown hair cascades down to my back. Jack's pale hand is towardsthe air born snowball. His back is lurched forward in a certain angle. I smile at my drawing.

I look to my alarm clock.

11:47PM

Man, it's that late already. I place my notebook under my bed and go under my green sheets. I sing the tune again and find myself drifting into sleep.

Lauren POV:

The golden figure stands in the air. Sandy closes his eyes and raises his arms. He opens his hands, showing his palms. The golden sand crawls out of his palms like garden snakes. At first it's a few. Then, the snakes divide into more and more, passing through windows to deliver beautiful thoughts. I come out from behind the building and admire Sandy's work. Oh, wish I could talk to you, Sandy.

I fly above to town to find a web of golden strings spreading all over this little town of Burgess. I smile. Bringing joy to children is a guardian's job and joy. I wish I was still one.

I close my eyes and focus my energy. Behind my eyelids, an image forms of the girl, Elizabeth. She is sleeping soundly on her bed. The golden tendril is entering the window and lightly touches her head. Elizabeth sighs in content as images appear above he head. The dream is of her flying through the sky.

I smile. She does have imagination, just like me. I fly over to one of the main dream sand vines and touch it. A doll and PS3 appears.

Dreams about toys.

I float over to another line of sand. I touch it to get a two dolphins jump out and an eagle hovering over the two sea creatures.

Dreams about environment.

Found it. I follow the sand to see that it only divides into three subcategories. I touch the first one. An image of Elizabeth and another younger girl with curly hair are planting flowers, bluebells, to be exact.

Elizabeth must love children. I touch the other one to see sand-form Elizabeth fly out.

I smile. This is my stop.

I take a deep breath. I dive in. I feel myself become a form of grainy sand. It's uncomfortable, but I've been through worse.

Now to tell Elizabeth of her destiny.

Elizabeth POV

I love dreams about flying. It's just freedom. I twist, turn, make loop the loops. There's just no limits.

I giggle at my thoughts. I'm so childish! But, proud. Childish and Proud. I like it. Maybe I'll doodle it in the morning. In fact, I can draw it now. A cloud comes by and I sit on it, defying the laws and principles of science. I point my right index finger to the sky filled with clouds and start to draw. Where my finger moves, the sky clears and leaves a streak of dark blue, even though I first dreamt of flying through the morning sky. I close my eyes and imagine stars on the blue lines. I open my eyes to see "Childish and Proud" in sparkling blue, fancy letters.

"That's lovely." I break from my daydream and turn around. The voice doesn't sound like Pitch. In fact, it's the total opposite. It sounds sweet and gentle.

"Who's there?" I ask. A young woman slowly apraoches me, emerging from the clouds. She looks... Special. And there's a gentle and strange feeling in the air. I recognize her, yet I don't know her at all. Her skin is pale, not as pale as Jack's, but still pale. She has brilliant green eyes, surprisingly like mine. Her shot blonde hair only goes up to right above her chin. However, you can see a few grey strands. Her outift is ordinary. She is wearing a green bell dress with a dark brown belt. The straps seem to be made of vines. However, the one thing that makes her seem special in appearance is the silver and green tiara on top of her head. The same one from my dream. I shudder.

"Please, don't be afraid. I'm not an enemy," she says.

"Then, who are you?"

"You might not believe me."

"Go on. I'll listen."

"Well, it doesn't involve listening," she tells me. The woman comes towards me. I don't move. She seems trustworthy. Plus, this can't be a nightmare, can it?

Before I can ask, she walks closer to me, a bit too close for my liking.

"Do you trust me?" She asks. Do I trust her?

"Yes," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. The woman smiles. She raises her right hand and places her fingertips on my forehead. A shock of electricity flows through me and images form in my mind.

Pitch is standing with something in his arms. However he looks different. From here, his skin is a slight tan and his hair is light brown. The only thing that identifies him as the man of nightmares is the dark energy around this man.

"Hi, Lauren. How's my little girl?" Pitch says. A woman comes to view. She has brown eyes and long blonde hair.

"Hello, Honey. Hi, little girl," says the woman. So, this girl is Pitch's daughter. Pitch has a daughter! Wow. The vision fades and hear the screams of Pitch, then maniacal laughter.

I then see a little girl with long blonde hair and brown eyes looking up at the moon.

"Why?" the little girl asks the moon.

"It's out of my hands, Lauren. I'm sorry," says the moon. A montague of the girl growing up, talking to the moon, and sketching Pitch is shown. Finally, it shows the young woman, Lauren, the woman in front of me, looking up at the moon.

"Please, I need to help my father," says Lauren.

"There will be many obstacles, Lauren," says the Man in the Moon.

"I don't care. He needs me. I might even be able to change him back."

"Are you sure about this? I am warning you now. The path you want to take is difficult."

"I will do anything. He is all I have left."

"Very well." From the moon came a green sparkle. The little speck of light floated down and touched Lauren. Lauren became engulfed in light. Her eyes are closed and her arms are wide open, accepting her fate.

Manny's voice echoed, "Your name is Queen Laurel, Queen of Flora and Fauna. You are now Mother Nature." The light faded. Laurel opened her eyes, revealing a green color. Her outfit changed into what she is wearing now.

Another montague is shoved in my vision. It's of Laurel roaming the world as the seasons change. She sometimes helps the Guardins and sometimes she helps her father. She argues with her father and whispers, "I'm sorry," whenever she harms Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, or North. I never see Jack, though.

She then is arguing with her father again, and leaving. Then, I see Laurel at the North Pole. After some arguing and tears, they all embrace.

"What's your center? Do you know?" Tooth asks.

"Yes. I do. I am the Guardian of Creativity," Laurel says.

Pitch is with his fearlings in a little town. The guardians are opposite of them, including Laurel.

"Please, we can end this," Laurel says.

"Never," sneers Pitch.

"I'm sorry, Dad," whispers Laurel. They all battle. North, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy fight the fearlings, taking them down with ease. Laurel, however, takes the challenge of fighting the Nightmare King. Pitch uses the advantage of his fearlings and Laurel, as the Guardian af Creativity, creates different weapons in her hands, using all of them to her advantage.

Finally, both are tired and panting.

"Please... We don't have to do this... We...can be together... As a family," pants Laurel.

"You... Betrayed me! ... My own daughter!" Pitch shouts at the top of his lungs.

What happened next, happened too quickly. Pitch summoned his black sand. It gathered in his raised arms and formed a sword. When fully formed, he runs and plunges it into Laurel's chest.

"Laurel!" scream the Guardians. Pitch has a smile on his face, but regret and guilt are in his golden eyes.

Laurel's mouth is open and her eyes flutter shut. The second they flutter shut a cry of a baby is heard and the imaginary screen goes blank. A voice says, "Her name is Elizabeth."

I feel a jolt of energy and my eyes open. Laurel is a few feet away from me with sad eyes looking down at a cloud.

"It is a legend that when an immortal with unfinished duties dies, a mortal is born, to fulfill it," says Laurel.

"So," I say, confused, "let me get this straight. You're a ghost with unfinished duties, aka your father. I'm your reincarnation, and I'm supposed to defeat and/or change Pitch, the most stubborn being in the world."

"Yes." I sigh.

"Look, I know it's a lot to take in and it will be hard. But, you'll have help. You have my powers, you have me and the guardians."

"How can I even have your help? You're a ghost in my world."

"Do you remember that tune?" Mother Nature whistles the eight-note tune I made up.

"That's how you can call me," Laurel says.

"Wait. So, one more question. Am I mortal?" I ask.

"You are a mortal with special abilities. But, when you have fulfilled your duties, you can choose whether you want to be a Guardian or mortal." After a long silence, she continues.

"Please, can you help me? You're my father's only hope." That last sentence caught my attention. She didn't say her only hope. She said her father's. She didn't care about herself, whether she died in the process of saving her father or of any consequences.

What will happen if I don't do this? What will happen to the children? Monique? Will we fall into another Dark Age, full of nightmares and fears?

"I'll definitely try," I finally answer. Laurel smiles.

"Oh, thank you so much, Elizabeth!" Laurel sings out, pulling me into an embrace. She pulls away with tears in her eyes.

"Now, go back too your dream," Laurel says. She then disappears from my dream.

I will have a lot to tell Jack.


End file.
